Frontiers Knows There Will Be No Miracles

It's been a really long time since Elliott released False Cathedrals and in that time, the world has changed quite a bit. Former Elliott vocalist Chris Higdon formed a new band named Frontier(s) in 2008 and since then has slowly been building momentum with this band ever since.

Playing the types of songs he missed hearing and playing years ago, Higdon and Frontier(s) have gradually worked themselves back into the habit of writing songs that are a cross between something like math rock and traditional emo. As Higdon puts it, "We started this band with the main goal to write music we were in to and to keep it less calculated than the current climate of heavy guitar hinged music." They do a pretty good job of that as There Will Be No Miracles is a technical, big rock record that swerves around clichés like the Top Gear cast in a Porsche 911.

Melodic and soncially huge, There Will Be No Miracles sounds almost as if it were designed for a (dare I say it) cathedral as it's songs often stretch themselves to the point of breaking but never quite do. The guitar interplay is truly top notch and it's almost like you can hear the riffs rebounding off everyone as they pummel themselves out of the speakers. Dramatic and loaded with Higdon's sort of pseudo-falsetto croon, There Will Be No Miracles is a unrelentingly good record that churns its way through each of the ten songs that make it up. It's a return to form for Higdon and the songs here prove constantly that he's lost nothing when it comes to his songwriting ability. Perpetually powerful and technically impressive Frontier(s) create songs that are intricate, complex, and yet appealing.

There Will Be No Miracles doesn't require you to have a Doctorate of Physics but the songs are mathy enough where it might help. Complexity aside, the record weaves the built up tension, musicality, and melodicism into a heady brew of stormy indie rock that will have you hooked in no time flat. There Will Be No Miracles is an absorbing and splendid record whose algebraic formula for music shows Frontier(s) ready to take the spotlight on their own. Nice work guys.